Darren Holmes believes Nostell Miners Welfare have nothing to lose when they visit Albion Sports tonight
Resurgent Nostell Miners Welfare will visit Albion Sports tonight full of confidence and with “nothing to lose”, Darren Holmes claims.
Nostell could exit the Toolstation NCEL Premier Division relegation zone with a win at ninth-place Albion – a possibility that seemed impossible ten days ago.
Holmes’ men got their first victory of the campaign over fellow strugglers Glasshoughton last week and then followed it up with a 2-2 draw with Parkgate.
Holmes admits that Nostell are still in deep trouble, but there is plenty of belief.
“Albion Sports are a good side,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to going there because it is at Farsley and it is a nice surface an set-up.
“On the back of a win and a draw, the lads are looking forward to it.
“We have nothing to lose and that’s the attitude we have going into the games with the top teams.
“Let’s get a good performance out of it and see where we go.
“There’s a lot more still to do.
“We’re in a dogfight and we are going to be in a dogfight all season. It is a bit like last year when every point is massive for us.
“Every game is a huge game until we get out of the situation we are in.”
The signing of Mark Simpson from Pontefract Collieries has also been a key reason for the turnaround in fortunes.
Striker Simpson has scored in all of his three games since joining – including two in the crucial Glasshoughton win.
Holmes said: “His goal record is fantastic. It is simply goals.
“He’s now our top scorer and he’s only played three times.
“I’m over the moon. To recruit a player like that from ten miles away, I’m chuffed.
“He’s got quick feet. He’s good in front of goal and he converts his chances.
“The problem we have got is that we may only get three or four chances in a game and we have to score them chances.”
Before the Glasshoughton clash, Nostell had just two points on the board.
A win and a draw have put them two points behind their fellow strugglers, but Holmes admits that his side had to take all three points against Glasshoughton.
“The Glasshoughton game was a little bit make-or-break,” Holmes said looking back on last week.
“I think if we had lost to Glasshoughton then (chairman) Granville (Marshall) would have been chewing my ears off after that game.
“It was getting to the stage where it was make-or-break for us. When we are playing teams like Worksop and Parramore, all we say is ‘lets be competitive and see what we can get out of the game and take it into the week after’.
“The Glasshoughton game wasn’t like that because we have a similar budget which is more-or-less zero and we were on a par to them.
“The lads played really well and stepped up to the mark and I was really chuffed after the game.”